Indiana’s Weather For Race Day!

May 27, 2012

Temperatures will climb like Castroneves today. It will be hot enough for Guy Fieri to fry an egg on the sidewalk.

The STAR’s Curt Cavin says the kind of heat I’m forecasting for today will translate to about 140 degrees ON the track. Overheated tires may lay down excess rubber, making the track slippery and the race car loose.

Temps will already be in the 70’s as the gates open. By the time the “Hot Bod” contest starts at 9:30am in the Turn 3 Infield…EVERY body is likely to be hot, as the temp moves into the low 80s.

The temperature could get to 90 by Noon, and stay 90+ until about 8pm Sunday night, which is when the Heat Advisory officially ends.

The last time the official Indy temperature was above 90 on a Race Day was 1978. No WONDER people are dressed like that in those old Indianapolis STAR infield photos!

WIKI-POTEETIA:
Likely to be broken today: The all time highest Race Day temp, 92 from 1937.
MAYBE broken today: The record high for May 27, 94 from 1911.

The all time coolest Race Day low temp is 58 from 1992.
The all time wettest Race Day featured 3.8 inches of rain in 2004.

RECENT RACE DAY HIGHS:
88 in 2011
89 in 2010
86 in 2009

When you think of Good Ol’ Boy names, you probably don’t think “Beryl.” But Beryl will be moving toward the southeast coast today, and some of the subtropical storm’s moisture could make it into the Carolinas and spark a few scattered storms near the Charlotte Motor Speedway. It’s not a big threat. In many ways the weather for the Coca-Coca 600 will mirror Indy today. The afternoon high will be around 90 under sticky sunshine.

Beryl’s maximum sustained winds were near 45 mph early Sunday morning. Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect for portions of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Here’s the good news: Northern Florida and adjacent areas of Georgia are currently suffering through an exceptional drought, so the significant rain from Beryl will help.

Indianapolis needs some help, too. We’ve had almost exactly half of the rain we should have gotten this month. Indy is about two inches behind on precipitation for the year. Some showers and storms are likely by Monday night and Tuesday morning, but it looks unlikely to produce precipitation beyond a quarter of an inch over most of central Indiana.

INDY ALMANAC:
The average high today is 76 and the average low is 56. Records are 94 and 31. We gain another two minutes of daylight today. Sunrise is 6:21 and sunset comes at 9:04.

UV INDEX:
The index is “very high” today, at a level of “10.”

POLLEN COUNT:
It should stay in the “medium-high” category through Tuesday, perhaps falling some that day as cooler, drier air moves in after earlier rain.